Just how serious are the Crossfire talks? “Serious enough that I feel comfortable telling you about it,” Gingrich says. Will Stephanie Cutter join? “You’ve got to ask CNN,” he says. A CNN spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

He admits he’s tantalized by the prospect of a regular slot on television to discuss “serious issues.”

“People forget but for the first 10 years it was a very serious program,” he says of the Tom Braden and Pat Buchanan years. “I remember doing it as a junior member — it was a real workout. It was a destination for people to hear both sides discuss serious issues in an entertaining way.”